Heavy duty multi-purpose loader bucket



Sept. 15, 1964 M. w. CLARK ETAL HEAVY DUTY MULTI-PURPOSE LOADER BUCKET 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1962 INVENTORS. MURL w. CLARK BY KAR L L.MA$ON WAYNE E. ROBE RTS A TORN EYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. MUR L W.CLAR K BY KARL L. MASON WAYNE E. ROBERTS ATTORNEYS M. W. CLARK ETALSept. 15, 1964 HEAVY DUTY MULTI-PURPOSE LOADER BUCKET Filed June 29,1962 I a 15 4o a" m n m mm W \\\H. \A u."

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3 a a m p 15, 1964 M. w. CLARK ETAL 3,148,787

HEAVY DUTY MULTI-PURPOSE LOADER BUCKET Filed June 29, 1962 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORB. E MURL W. CLARK BY KARL MASON WAYNE EROBERTSwho A TORNEYS United States Patent 3,148,787 HEAVY DUTY MULTI-PURPOSELOADER BUCKET Murl W. Clark, Morton, Karl L. Mgson, Peoria, and

Wayne E. Roberts, East Peoria, 111., assignors to Caterpillar TractorCo., Peoria, Ill., a corporation of California Filed June 29, 1962, Ser.No. 206,421 1 Claim. (Cl. 214-147) This invention relates to loaderbuckets and particularly to a loader bucket of exceptionally heavy anddurable construction enabling it to withstand abuse such as isencountered in the demolition of buildings and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a loader bucketcapable of ordinary loading operations and also capable of use as abulldozer, a battering ram and a prying tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heavy duty bucket withits hydraulic actuating components protected against destructive forcesencountered in heavy duty use.

Still further and more specific objects and advantages of the inventionare made apparent in the following specification wherein reference ismade to the accompanying drawings for a detailed understanding of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heavy duty loader bucket embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bucket shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with partsbroken away;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing the relationshipbetween the front edge of the bucket and its clamp in closed position;

FIG. 5 is a similar view illustrating a slightly diflerent relationshipcaused by bending or misalignment of the forward edge of the bucket; and

FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation with parts in section illustratingthe manner in which the bucket is adapted to grip a timber to be used asa battering ram.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the invention isillustrated as comprising a bucket generally indicated at 10 adapted tobe pivotally supported at the ends of lift arms 11 and tilt arms 12carried by a tractor and employed in a well known manner to raise, lowerand otherwise manipulate the bucket. A cover or clamp generallyindicated at 13 is pivotally connected to the bucket as by pins 14 andadapted to be swung between open and closed position with respect to thebucket by means of a pair of double acting hydraulic jacks, one of whichis shown at 15 in FIG. 2, pivoted as at 16 to the bucket and as at 17 toextensions of the cover 13.

Because of the heavy duty for which the bucket is designed, the jacksand flexible hydraulic lines associated with them are protected fromfalling debris or other crushing forces. This is accomplished byproviding double walls as indicated at 19 and 20 in FIG. 3 at both endsof the bucket to form enclosures for the jacks and their pivotalconnections. Flexible hoses 21 communicate with the jacks and areprotected in part by the jack enclosures and in part by a curved innerbucket plate 22 (see FIG. 2) which cooperates with the bottom 23 of thebucket and the back plate 24 thereof to form a somewhat triangularenclosure extending throughout the width of the bucket. These hosescommunicate within the enclosure with an extension 25 of a conventionalswivel fitting 26, the swivel center of which is aligned with pins 27(see FIG. 1) by means of which the lift arms 11 are connected withbrackets 28 secured to the bucket. Because of the coaxial 3,148,787 a ed S pt- 15 4 relationship of the swivel 26 and pins 27, rigid tubularconnections, asshown at 29 in FIG. 2, may be secured to and moved withthe lift arms so that flexible connections likely to be broken are notnecessary outside of the enclosures provided by the bucket construction.Removable inspection plates 30 are provided at the back of the bucketadjacent the jacks 15 for inspection and servicing of the jacks andtheir associated flexible conduits.

The clamp 13 is formed of inner and outer walls reinforced by a weldedcellular structure, generally indicated at 32 in FIG. 2, and the forwardface of the clamp is concave in the manner of a bulldozer blade andterminates in a cutting edge 33 at its lower extremity. Thus with theclamp in its closed position, the entire bucket may be employed in themanner of a bulldozer with the bottom of the bucket skidding over thesurface of the ground. The walls of the bucket formed by the spacedplates 19 and 20 taper inwardly and forwardly beyond the leading edge ofthe bucket and clamp and terminate in wedge-likepoints provided withhardened tips 34 (see also FIG. 3) which tips penetrate and facilitateloading of rubble or brush and may also be used as pries in theloosening of concrete slabs or uprooting of foundation members.

Directly behind the hardened edge 33 of the clamp are disposed aplurality of spaced plates 36, best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, which serveto reinforce the cutting edge and also serve to insure proper closing ofthe clamp in the event that the hardened cutting edge 37 of the bucketbecomes bent upwardly or otherwise misaligned in use. It is intended, asshown in FIG. 4, that the plates 36 overlie the forward cutting edge 37of the bucket in the closed position of the clamp but in the event ofmisalignment of the hardened bucket edge 37, which might cause them tostrike this edge in the manner shown in FIG. 5, the inclined lowersurfaces of the plates 36 act in the manner of cams tending to cause theclamp to slide forwardly and assume the intended closed position shownin FIG. 4. The reinforcing plates 36 also perform a further functionwhich, as shown in FIG. 6, is to impale and retain a log or timberrepresented at 38 between the edge of the bucket and the edge of theclamp, which timber may be used as a battering ram for shattering wallsabove the normal reach of the bucket.

Entry of debris into the enclosures for the jacks 15 in the vicinity ofthe pivotal connections 14 between the bucket and clamp is prevented bywiper seals as shown in dotted lines at 40 in FIG. 2 on the bucket andengaging the bearing through which the pin 14 passes and also by wiperseals at 41 and 42 which mate with the serni cylindrical bossconstructions 43 integral with extensions of the cover 13. Furtherprotection is provided by the close proximity of a plate 44 on the clampwith the back plate 22 of the bucket which curves around this bearingstructure. Removable inspection caps shown at 45 close the upper end ofthe jack enclosures and provide access to the jack rod pivots shown at17.

Since the entire bucket is of unusually heavy and durable construction,it may be used for battering and crushing operations and its lessdurable components such as the hydraulic jacks together with theirpivotal supports and flexible connections are adequately protected.

We claim:

In a loader bucket of the kind described comprising a bottom wall, arear wall, end walls, a cover clamp pivoted with respect to the upperportions of the end walls, hydraulic jacks for imparting pivotalmovement to the cover clamp at each end thereof, pivotal connectionsbetween the bucket and the jacks and between the jacks and the coverclamp, each end wall including spaced plates With means spanning theirmarginal edges to form a complete enclosure for a jack, its pivotalconnections s and the pivot between the cover clamp and the end Walls,said enclosure forming rigid box-like structures coextensive with theend walls, converging forwardly and terminating in wedge-like tips. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,489,629 Ford Nov. 29, 1949 4 V Carlson Jan. 8, 1957 May 12, DodgeSept. 13, 1960 Hackett et a1. May 15, 1962 Svoboda Feb. 19, 1962 OTHERREFERENCES John Deere Operators Manual OM-U1393OU for 850 ForkLifLandLog Loader, published March 1961. 1

